8 March brings the launch of the first edition of the “Fair to Women” competition aimed at promoting the idea of equal treatment and opportunities for women in the Polish labour market and distinguishing employers who create the best working conditions for women. The project is organised by the Vox Feminae Foundation, who partnered with PwC Polska, Emitel S.A., ABSL, as well as Polish Press Agency and 300Gospodarka.

Equal pay, work-life balance programmes, women in managerial positions, as well as organisational culture fostering quality are some of the most important issues that the competition jury will take into consideration while choosing the winners.

“Women are becoming increasingly important in politics and business, with more and more industries and positions opening up for them – One of the key examples is the recent presidential election in the United States, where for the first time in history, the seat of the Vice President went to a woman, Kamala Harris. In spite of that, women are still under-represented at top business positions, and the gender pay gap remains a significant issue. Of course, in some cases – in particular in technology and engineering companies – the particular nature of some jobs leads to a natural disproportion in the workforce. This is the case with our company, for example. This, however, does not change the fact that the problem exists and we need to support women in their pursuit of self-fulfilment, fostering diversity – hence the decision to support the Fair to Women competition” said Andrzej Kozłowski, President of the Management Board of Emitel S.A.

“The situation in the labour market depends mainly on employers. That is why we are very keen to distinguish companies that do the most to create a friendly and equal working environment for women. In mature organisations, Diversity & Inclusion issues constitute an important part of the operational strategy. I hope that by promoting best practices in this area, we will contribute to increasing the importance of diversity in other companies as well,” says Katarzyna Komorowska, leader of People & Organization team and Partner at PwC.

“Our competition aims at distinguishing employers who ensure working conditions that enable women to be fulfilled professionally without giving up their family life,” says Monika Fill, president of the Vox Feminae Foundation.

The competition is open to medium and large-sized enterprises, which operate across all of Poland. The jury will evaluate any and all solutions that go beyond the employer’s obligations stemming from the existing laws and regulations. All companies that join the competition have to demonstrate that their activities are both regular and comprehensive in nature. The submitted applications will be evaluated and the winners will be selected by the competition jury, made up of representatives of the competition organiser and its partners, namely:

• Katarzyna Komorowska, Katarzyna Komorowska, leader of People & Organization team and Partner at PwC
• Andrzej Kozłowski, President of the Management Board of Emitel
• Iwona Słończewska-Knap, Managing Director at ABSL
• Dr Magdalena Butrymowicz, lawyer, legal counsel, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Family Law of the John Paul II University in Krakow
• Monika Fill, President of the Management Board of the Vox Feminae Foundation

All employers who would like to participate in the competition should fill in and send the questionnaire available at www.fairtowomen.pl by March 22 at the latest.